The overflowing stream

Verse for the week: Whoever hears you hears me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”  Luke 10.16

Prayer for the week: “Lord God, heavenly Father, you have bound us together in one body through your Holy Spirit.  Help us to serve one another willingly and forgive one another from our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.” (K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das jahr der Kirched, 1^st ed. Kassel: Barenreiter Verlag, 1933, p. 74). 

Bible reading for the day:  Isaiah 66.10-14 (note: Jerusalem was disciplined and destroyed during her Exile to Babylon (587-539 BC). Now the Lord promises a fresh start to his beloved, chastened people)

¹⁰ “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
all you who mourn over her;
¹¹ that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
from her glorious abundance.”

¹² For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip,
and bounced upon her knees.
¹³ As one whom his mother comforts,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
¹⁴ You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
your bones shall flourish like the grass;
and the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants,
and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.

prayer(based on the TRIP** method): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you: you extend so much mercy to us in Jesus, like a stream overflowing its banks is your grace for me and all dry, parched sinners.  Thank you! Repent us of the haughtiness and pride that forgets your mercy to us and so loves little.  Carry me & and my brothers and sisters on your hip, bounce us upon your knees… that we may rejoice in your hands.  In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord…

What does this mean?

I believe that Jesus Christ — true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary — is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, and has freed me from sin, death, and the power of the devil, not with silver and gold, but with his holy and precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. He has done all this in order that I might be his own, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as he is risen from the dead and lives and reigns for all eternity. This is most certainly true! (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources, Sola Publishing, 2011)

benediction:    Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph 3:20-21) 

*There are many patterns for devotions.  This pattern has been followed by God’s people for centuries.

**The T.R.I.P. approach to prayer is based on the way Martin Luther prayed and taught others to pray.  It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria, MN www.dailytext.com).  The method is founded on scripture and easy to remember:

T: thanksgiving

                                                          R: repentance

                                                          I: intercession (asking God to take a specific action)

                                                          P: plan or purpose

Reading a biblical text and then applying this method gives one a sound, simple way to form one’s prayers...not to mention that it helps one learn how to faithfully reflect on God’s Word and talk to God.